Jared Kennedy
NEWS EDITOR
The University of Nebraska at Omaha Public Relations StudentSociety of America (PRSSA) has once again been awarded the F.H. Teahan Outstanding Chapter award.
UNO PRSSA bested all of the 344 other chapters entered into national competition in Atlanta, Georgia.
In the last seven years, this is the third time UNO PRSSA has won the outstanding chapter award.The group previously received the honor in 2009 and 2012. The prize for winning outstanding chapter is $500 towards student advancement.
“These students represent the best of the best for UNO’s School ofCommunication,” said Karen Weber, UNO PRSSA faculty advisor.“They have worked tirelessly to make sure they achieve and excel in their professional development.”
Not only did UNO PRSSA receive the outstanding chapter award,they also received recognition asa Star Chapter. This is the fourth year in a row for such an accolade.The honor rewards students’ efforts in professional development and community service.
Chapter member Jessica Teaford says the team was in awe when they heard their name called for the award.
“I thought there was no way we could have won this,” Teaford said.“We spent three long nights until 2 a.m. just to put a book together with everything we had done throughout the year.”
Seniors Trent Ostrom and Angela Eastep also received individual recognition at this year’s conference. Ostrom is the chapter’s recruitment director. He earned the Ron Culp National Mentor Scholarship worth $1,000 towards finishing his schooling.
Eastep is the chapter’s president,she earned the PRSSA NationalGolden Key Award for excellence in their professional and academic endeavors.
“The students who are part of this organization continue to impress me with their dedication,” Weber said. “I’m thrilled to be part of playing a role in their development and it’s an honor to be considered their mentor. It makes me want to work even harder for them.”
Trent Ostrom, Maria Brown and Casey Riesberg present at the Chapter Development session on fundraising.
Many of the UNO PRSSA executive members are seniors, and members of UNO’s student public relations firm.
MaverickPR had a rare opportunity to serve as peer educators as one of eight chapters asked to host a Chapter Development session at the conference. The topic of the session was fundraising.
“I hope that everyone will recognize our hard work and dedication that our members put into the chapter. We all hope this will in-crease our recruitment and participation,” said chapter member Maria Brown. “It feels very rewarding to be a part of this society. It makes all of the hard work and late nights
worth it.”
Nine total students traveled to Atlanta for the national conference.The students who attended included Chapter CommunicationsDirector Maria Brown, Creative Director Kelly Bast, Chapter Vice President Casey Riesberg, Assistant Creative Director Jessica Teaford, Assistant Recruitment DirectorKelsey Johnson, Public Relations Director Misty Flowers and Chapter Newsletter Editor Susan Payne.
PRSSA is an organization for students interested in public relations.The group has more than 11,000 members from hundreds of schools across the country.
